Empty Orchestra: The Karaoke Standard and Pop Celebrity

This essay explores the disputed origins of the first karaoke machine and explains how karaoke eventually evolved into a term of judgment in star- making media such as reality vocal competition shows. What Tongson calls the double- edged “karaoke standard” — whether a competitor’s performance sounds like a direct imitation of the original and thus, according to judges, “like karaoke” — was famously invoked by Simon Cowell during the early seasons of American Idol. Karaoke has often been imagined as a technology that enables the everyman or everywoman to experience, if only for the length of the song, the power that comes with commanding the stage as a star. And yet, this essay argues, instead of verifying the wide chasm between celebrity and mere imitation, the karaoke standard reminds us of how narrow the gap actually is between amateur recreation and pop prowess.